Blind Date
by Rasengan22
Summary: Naruto gets set up on a blind date, but is surprised to find they aren't exactly strangers. SNS.
1. Chapter 1

a/n: Way belated Sasuke's birthday fic I'd been writing for netamashii, who requested a blind date scenario with a twist, among other details. I have most of it already written, but too long to post as a one-shot.

* * *

 _Blind Date_

Naruto stared at his phone, re-reading the text he'd received about five minutes ago. It was hard to tell much about a person when all they wrote was _Walking from 3rd St. Be there in 5._ If he had to guess, he could at least say such a person would have to be concise and that he probably wasn't directionally-challenged? He didn't usually do blind dates, but a guy at work who knew a guy who knew a guy had been so insistent that he agree to this that Naruto said yes mostly so he'd stop asking. It's not as though he'd ever had a problem getting a date, and he'd been on all of the dating apps. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn't. Sometimes he wasn't looking for anything serious. So, tonight was an anomaly. He didn't know anything about the guy he was meeting, not a physical description nor a name. From experience, Naruto could create a conversation out of thin air with anyone, so even if the guy wasn't his physical type, they could have a decent conversation over a nice meal. Unless he was racist. Or an asshole. Or a Republican, he supposed. They'd only exchanged the minimal amount of texts to decide on a location, with Greenwich being a convenient midway point for both of them. Naruto had just clocked out of a 12-hour shift, so he was going to crash after this. That should've been a good enough excuse to leave early if necessary or to deny any unwanted sexual advances.

The restaurant was French. He'd been the one to suggest it but had only been here a handful of times. It was close to NYU, but it was hardly a haven for students. It was mostly young professionals, hipsters even, but it was low-key and had a decent assortment of wine. If it didn't work out with this guy, it did seem one of the French bartenders kept giving him the eye. He'd already scored a free glass of wine as he sat waiting at his two-person table. Having picked up the menu to peruse it for a third time, Naruto didn't immediately notice when someone decided to stand directly in front of his table for long enough that it caught his attention.

Slowly, he glanced up from the menu, not sure if it was the server or -

"Oh."

"Naruto?" The man asked, staring at him and awaiting confirmation.

Naruto's first thought was _goddam_ did this man look sexy dressed in dark jeans, dark shirt, and leather jacket. Very apropos and typical of a gay New Yorker, and not too dissimilar from his own ensemble, except he didn't do leather. At least not for _fashion_ purposes _._ However, his second thought, was that he looked familiar. Why did he look so familiar to him? Oh, because Naruto had seen him somewhere before, and _that_ had been a gay dance club in Brooklyn. He remembered him clearly because they'd crossed paths on the dance floor and then -

They'd gone out the back door of the club, where Naruto blew him in an alleyway, underneath a fire escape, and just when he'd finished swallowing, the friends he'd been with that evening found him and dragged him away before he could get his own happy ending or ask for the man's name. That had been Naruto's 23rd birthday, so over nine months ago? In all his life, he'd never encountered this type of situation, so in the 10 seconds he had to decide on what his reaction would be, Naruto sat there stupidly with his mouth wide open, which probably was no different from the last time this guy had seen him on that very drunken, hazy evening.

"You are Naruto, aren't you?" The man asked again, but didn't seem to recognize him in the slightest, which meant Naruto was either mistaken or had been forgotten.

"Uh, I am. Sorry." He got up from the table to shake his hand. "It's just. You look familiar. How did you even know it was me?"

"I was told you'd be the blondest man in here, and took a shot since you're sitting alone. I'm Sasuke, by the way. Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto, who was still holding his hand, managed a smile. "I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Do you think they set us up because we're both Japanese?" Sasuke asked.

"Heh. It's possible," he said, still conflicted because he was only 80% sure this was the man from that night. Not to say he got around, but Naruto had his fair share of one-night stands in the past year, mostly because a year ago he'd broken up with a long-term boyfriend. If one year could be considered long-term. For him it was, so he did.

"Mind if I sit?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, please. Sorry, I really feel like, uh. Do you live in Brooklyn?"

"I do. Why? Where is it you think you've seen me?"

Naruto gave an uncomfortable chuckle, and scratched the back of his head. "You're not the type of guy to get bent out of shape by someone who's direct with you, right?"

The other man raised an eyebrow. "It depends on how you mean, but if you're asking whether I prefer honesty to someone blowing smoke up my ass, that answer should be obvious."

Tilting his head, Naruto smiled even wider at him for his response. "That in itself was a good answer. It's just, I don't mean to make this awkward or anything, but, uh. I'm just gonna put this out there. Does October 10 of last year ring a bell for you?"

"Not particularly, no," Sasuke answered, picking up a menu, but not breaking eye contact with him. "Is this some sort of game? I thought you were implying you'd get to the point?"

"You are a sassy one, aren't you? What is it you do again?" He asked, not particularly offended, but he could pretty much tell Sasuke did not do blind dates often. Naruto imagined he would never need to, which begged the question: why was he here at all?

"I'll tell you that, but can I ask you somethin' first?"

"I suppose so, sure."

Naruto frowned at his flippant reply, but his curiosity was piqued (and his pride at stake because he did know how to give a fucking _great_ blowjob _anyone_ would remember).

"Why did you agree to a blind date?" He asked. "I can tell this isn't somethin' you do often."

"Now, that _is_ rather direct," Sasuke said, also frowning now. "What gives you that impression? Albeit, it's true, but now I'm curious, Uzumaki Naruto."

"You..." Naruto bit his lip, smiling again because he liked being teased. "Alright. How about I just say what I was hopin' you'd remember for yourself. I could be mistaken, but did I blow you in the back alley of some club in East Williamsburg before a group of my friends dragged me away?"

Sasuke blinked at him, and there was a second where the man's eyes narrowed the slightest bit in offense, until a clear moment of dawning and recollection happened upon his features.

"Shit."

Naruto only smiled wider at being able to fluster him, because he had a feeling Sasuke didn't fluster easily. "See. I was tryin' to be delicate about it, but then I just got offended you couldn't even remember. Another reason to guess you don't need to be set up in order to meet men?"

"I… don't know what to say," said Sasuke. "Surprisingly, this hasn't happened to me before. At least, not like this." The skin between his dark brows furrowed, leaving Naruto to imagine that he'd run into tricks before, but not ever on a blind date.

"If this is to weird for you," Naruto managed to say in a steady voice, "We don't have to do this. I don't know about you, but my co-worker had been insisting for some time that he knew a guy who knew someone and so on, and now here we are."

"Same," Sasuke admitted, still looking moderately frazzled. So much so apparently that he grabbed Naruto's water and took a drink.

"You okay?" Naruto asked. "I'm a nurse, so if you're suffering heart palpitations and light-headedness, I can be of some assistance."

"You're a nurse?" Sasuke asked, and finally realized he'd taken Naruto's water. "Sorry."

"I am. Just got off of a shift about," he glanced down at his watch, "Two hours ago."

"Um."

"Yeah?" Naruto asked, half-expecting Sasuke to get up and walk away at any moment.

"For the record, I do remember you," he said. "It's been, yes. Since October." Sasuke's gaze had returned to its earlier coolness, a quality Naruto found attractive, and so now he could at least tell himself that his oral skills weren't entirely forgettable.

While they were looking at one another, he was positive they were both recollecting that night. Admittedly, Naruto had been very drunk, so some of the details were fuzzy, but it was hard to forget a guy with a face and body like Sasuke's. Naruto, though, wasn't a clingy guy by any means. He understood the difference between a one-night stand, or, in this case, a brief encounter in a dark alleyway, so there were no hard feelings if Sasuke wanted to leave. It's not like this was the most comfortable situation he'd ever been either, so he was surprised when the other man offered him a seductive smirk.

"Naruto," he said. "How would you feel about getting out of here?"

Naruto scowled, offended Sasuke was assuming he was easy.

"I mean, just out of this restaurant," Sasuke explained, having sensed his tense reaction to the question. "I think we've already broken the ice, wouldn't you say? There's no chance for a normal evening, so why not do something else?"

"Like what?"

Sasuke shrugged. "There's a bar a few blocks from here called Fat Cat. Usually there's a jazz band. Ping-pong tables, pool, that kind of thing. Would that work?"

Naruto gave it thought. "I'm hungry, though. But, I guess we could get somethin' there? Hell, I'd be fine gettin' food from that bodega on the corner."

Sasuke flashed him a smile. "I'll buy?"

Naruto grinned. "Cheap ass. Figures a guy who can't return certain favors would take a date to a food cart instead of buyin' him a meal at a French restaurant."

"Ah, well. When you put it that way," said Sasuke. "We can definitely stay here, but I guess I assumed you were more of a fly by the seat of your pants kind of guy… Naruto?"

With his dark eyes twinkling suggestively like that, how could Naruto be mad? Plus, he agreed that it was kind of hard to do the whole get-to-you-you spiel when he'd already sucked this guy's dick. Music was always a weakness of his, and he could roast Sasuke's ass in ping pong.

"I suppose I'm not opposed," he said. "As long as I get to whoop your ass at pool."

"Do you really think I'll let you win easily because you give a great blowjob?"

It was Naruto's turn to be flustered. Even when Sasuke stood up from the table, his cheeks were still flushed and red. Laughing, Sasuke was able to sneak between the tables and give him a tug, encouraging him to his feet. Naruto, almost shyly, did get up, and, for the first time, was able to get a whiff of Sasuke's cologne. It was subtle, masculine, and sexy. Just like Sasuke, and, to be honest, exactly how Naruto liked his men. Not that he expected this to go anywhere because, well, what relationship could ever bloom from a back alley encounter? But, he worked hard, and he worked a lot, so he was up for some fun. He was glad Sasuke didn't try to hold his hand or put an arm around him or anything like that. It would've been too much, too soon, but he did like the spontaneity of Sasuke's suggestion. He also liked when Sasuke held the door open for him, and continued holding it for the couple who walked in next. Naruto could appreciate manners, but wouldn't have expected it of him.

"You know," he said, dutifully waiting nearby until Sasuke's door duties came to an end. "I have a feelin' this is going to be a night of surprises. Are you prepared for that, Sasuke? You didn't look so good earlier when I let you in on us havin' already met."

"Well," said Sasuke. "As you already guessed about me and blind dates, they aren't really my thing, so it's almost reassuring that this isn't going to be one."

"I see. You came to me with low expectations, didn't you?" Naruto was flirting, but whatever.

They were both young. Sasuke was definitely sexy, and he must not find him too unattractive given what he could remember of that night when he'd been on his knees, Sasuke's back to the wall and his hands in Naruto's hair - that look on his face the instant he came in his mouth.

Sasuke, pocketing his hands in his jacket, flashed a smirk. Was he remembering it, too?

"Come on, Naruto," he said. "Let me get you that drink I should've bought you 10 months ago."

This time, Sasuke did place a hand on his lower back, but only long enough to get him moving down the sidewalk. They were headed east along 8th Street, the air between them easy-going, and, possibly, a mutual attraction re-building itself even in the face of sobriety.

"You don't owe me anything," Naruto told him. "But, just so you know," he leaned partially into Sasuke's space but not enough to be intrusive. "It _was_ my birthday."

"Ah, fuck," Sasuke said, and Naruto laughed. "In that case. Two drinks."

"Big spender," Naruto remarked, the both of them smiling coyly at each other. "It's okay. I'm a big boy. I can buy my own drinks. We can go dutch. I'm very modern in that regard."

Sasuke chuckled, low and husky. Something about him was very alluring. He was a good looking guy, but there was also… just a vibe. Naruto could understand well why he'd dropped to his knees that night, but it might also be nice to get to know him better. This time, with all their clothes on. Then again, Sasuke had never told him why he'd agreed to a blind date. He didn't strike Naruto as the type in search of a serious relationship. However, it was only a first date, so no need to overanalyze, and unless Sasuke started ticking off all of his pet peeves, he thought it might be fun to simply enjoy the ride.

* * *

He was annoyed with himself for never coming here before. After Sasuke so kindly bought him a chicken shawarma from a nearby bodega. Sasuke even shared some of it with him, and since he kept making Naruto laugh, he followed him a couple of blocks over into Fat Cat.

They went down the stairs, Sasuke paying their cover, and like he'd promised, there was a jazz bar playing at the end of the bar. In front of the stage were vintage-looking couches and chairs where people could sit and watch. There were all kinds of ping-pong and pool tables, shuffleboard. After Sasuke bought him a drink (he got a dirty martini, Sasuke got a beer), they found an open pool table and decided to play, with winner buying the second round. Not that he was opposed to paying for anything, but so far Sasuke had picked up all of their tabs.

For a Thursday night, it was crowded. Honestly, it was a fun atmosphere, and he was kicking himself for never coming before, but he lived way uptown so he could be close to the hospital where he worked. They picked out their cues, and Sasuke racked the balls for them. Naruto insisted he break. It also meant he got a nice view as Sasuke bent over the table.

Sasuke happened to glance up. "Did you ask me to shoot first just so you could stare at my ass?"

"Not especially," he answered, an easy-going smile on his face. "It's a nice bonus, though."

Smirking, Sasuke took his first shot, the balls scattering all over the table, with two solids and one stripe sliding into different pockets. He was no amateur at this apparently as it took three shots before Naruto even got his turn, but by the time he was finished, they were about even.

"You're not half bad," Sasuke remarked, standing close by while Naruto chalked the end of his cue.

"You think?" Naruto asked, glancing up from what he was doing. "So, are you gonna tell me more about yourself, or is that the material you save for a second date?"

"No, I don't do second dates very often," Sasuke answered.

"Then why go on a first one at all? Which brings me to the question I asked earlier. Why did you decide to go on a blind date if it's not your thing?"

The other man shrugged and picked up his beer, but without taking a drink. "What do you want to know?"

"The basics, I guess," said Naruto. "Where you grew up, are you a native New Yorker, from somewhere else, what do you do? As a job, for fun? What are your hobbies?"

"Those are pretty cliche things to ask," Sasuke replied.

"They're cliche," he said, "Because they're kinda necessary to get to know someone? If you wanna talk about somethin' deeper we can, but it's only a first date. Or, whatever you wanna call it."

"Alright." Sasuke finally took a sip of his drink. "I was born in Japan, moved with my mother to L.A. when I was three after my parents divorced, moved up and down the west coast throughout my childhood, came out here for college, and never left. Currently I work in the entertainment industry, nothing too exciting. As for hobbies… let's save that for later."

"So mysterious," Naruto said, watching him closely, noting the way his body language had changed. Sasuke wasn't a guy who liked to talk about himself. Fair enough. "So, which do you prefer more? West Coast or East Coast?"

"They both have their good points," Sasuke answered. "Right now, though, I'm in a New York state of mind." He smiled at Naruto, and one of those sexy smiles that made him want to lean in a little closer. "What about you? I know you're a nurse. What's that like?"

"A lot of hours," he said. "Very stressful and sometimes emotionally exhausting, but… also very fulfilling." Naruto gave him another glance. "Wanna keep playin'?"

"Yes. Do you want another?" Sasuke gestured to his empty martini glass.

"Yeah, but get me somethin' different," he said and winked. "You decide."

"Luckily when you do that I find it charming," said Sasuke. "Be right back."

As he walked off, Naruto definitely checked out his ass. If there's one thing he loved, it was a man who had confidence and swagger, and Sasuke had it in spades. Damn. No, he could be cool about this. They were both the type to know how to let loose and have a good time, but is that something he was looking for? He'd said yes to this blind date to shut up his colleague, sure. Yet, in the back of his mind, maybe he was hoping for something… more? Sasuke didn't seem to be looking for anything like that, so he should keep his expectations low. At least in regard to this ever being more than a potential hook-up. Not that he would mind. In fact, he couldn't do a whole lot better than Sasuke. It's just, how long was he going to keep doing stuff like this? All these empty, casual encounters. It wasn't really his style.

Because he was so preoccupied by his thoughts, Naruto goofed his shot. Since he had time to spare, he decided to check his phone for any emergency messages. He wasn't on call, but they were fairly short-staffed at the hospital lately, so it wasn't implausible they'd want him to come in. There were only the usual messages, with one from the friend who'd set him up, asking how it was going. Naruto decided not to respond a he hadn't come to any conclusions and explaining the situation over the phone would've been ridiculous. Not to mention he didn't like to be on his phone during a date, unless it was going horribly wrong. Just as he was putting it into his back pocket, Sasuke walked toward him with whatever drink he'd imagined Naruto would like.

"I'm dyin' of anticipation to know what you ordered for me," Naruto asked, noticing the light green color. "If it's an Appletini, we might have to end this right now."

"Says the guy who originally ordered a martini?" Sasuke asked. "No, I had them do something custom. I used to bartend, so I thought you might like it."

Naruto leaned his cue against the table, walked up to him, and took it from his hand. Their fingers momentarily brushed, sending a pleasant jolt through his body. Thankfully, his hand didn't shake when he took the glass from him and had his first sip.

"Oh shit," he said. "That's really good, Sasuke. What's in it? I taste vodka… and rum?"

"It's called a Tokyo Tea. It's vodka, gin, rum, triple sec, sweet and sour mix, and a melon liqueur."

"So, you were a bartender, huh?" Naruto asked. "I can picture that."

"Is that a compliment?" Sasuke asked, reaching over him to pick up his cue, arm barely brushing Naruto's chest, but it had a mighty impact on Naruto.

He licked his lips, tasting the sweet melon liqueur. "In this case, yeah. Very much."

Sasuke smirked, and leaned in close, his head tilting in such a way that it caused a long, dark piece of bang to fall across his cheek. "Are you having flashbacks?"

Naruto chuckled at his cockiness, eyes sweeping back and forth across the Japanese man's attractive features. It wasn't often he went out with other Asian men, for no reason in particular. They didn't ever seem to gravitate toward him, and he'd never thought about as to why.

"I've been having flashbacks all night," he confessed, his voice low and a fraction husky.

Sasuke's lips parted slightly. "Is that so?"

"But if you think you're gonna get me into an alley a second time, I hate to disappoint you," said Naruto. "I'm not as easy as I made myself out to be that night."

"I never figured that you were," Sasuke replied, turning and taking his shot right next to him, his hip touching Naruto's and the back of his shirt riding up just enough to show a sliver of pale skin.

"Tease," Naruto muttered, loud enough for him to hear as he drank his Tokyo Tea.

When Sasuke stood, they were shoulder to shoulder, and he was smirking. "Let me try? See if it's as good as the way I make it."

He took the glass from Naruto, their eyes locked the entire time he took a sip, and then handed it back.

"How is it?" Naruto asked. "As good as yours?"

"I can definitely do it better," Sasuke replied. "If you come by my place some time, I'll make something even better."

"Oh, I should go to your place some time?" Naruto smirked. "Are you gettin' ahead of yourself, Sasuke?"

"It was a casual invitation, Naruto." Sasuke leaned in so close, he genuinely thought the man might try to kiss him. "No strings attached."

"No strings attached is exactly how we met."

"It's a first date," Sasuke told him. "Are you looking for something more? Because I can't guarantee that's something I'm in search of right now."

"So, what do you want?" Naruto asked, setting his glass on the edge of the table for the time being. "It would be helpful to know."

"What I _want_ is to kiss you," Sasuke answered. "I want to take you to bed, and properly this time. Give back what you gave to me, but…"

Naruto searched him again, both thrilled and disappointed by his words. "But?"

"You seem to want something else? So, I won't push it. It's not to say I don't find you interesting. I came tonight because a colleague kept pushing it. A boss, really. So, eventually I ran out of excuses. He's married to the man who knows your friend. Now, here we are."

"That's similar to why I said yes, too, so I can't fault you for that," Naruto confessed. "Unlike you, though. Maybe I did have expectations of one date turnin' into another if it went well."

"Then," Sasuke said, turning away from him to line up his next shot. "In your estimate," he looked back at Naruto over his shoulder, "How's it going?"

"The view is nice, at least," Naruto answered. "Is taking it slow completely out of the question?"

"I didn't come tonight with any expectations," Sasuke replied. "No offense."

"None taken." He watched Sasuke take his second shot, leaving only two of his balls remaining, plus the 8-ball. It looked like the next round would be on him. "Do you even wanna do anything after this?"

Sasuke grabbed the chalk, using it on his cue tip. "My schedule is completely clear. What about you? And, aren't you exhausted? Didn't you say you came from a shift? Those tend to be long, don't they?"

"That's true," Naruto said. "It was about 12 hours, and I have to go back in the morning."

"Then I shouldn't keep you out too late, should I?" Sasuke asked. "It could… impact your performance."

Naruto smirked at the provocation. "I think we both know my performance seemed to satisfy you despite how drunk we both were. Your _performance_ , however, is yet to be determined."

"You told me you want to take it slow." Sasuke took his third shot, and since his two balls had been lined up perfectly to slide into a corner pocket, that left only the one.

"It's only an observation," Naruto answered, feeling a heat pooling in his gut. The chemistry between them crackled, and that look in Sasuke's eye told him he felt similarly.

"You're looking at me like you want me to kiss you," Sasuke told him. "But your words are saying something different, so that's the only thing stopping me from making a move on you."

Oh shit. Naruto had to swallow as that feeling in his gut dropped a little lower.

"It's not my intention to give you mixed signals," he nearly whispered.

"It's fine," said Sasuke. "I can go with the flow." He passed by Naruto while walking around the corner, to the opposite side of the table.

Naruto was less sure about what he wanted than before. His dick was starting to ask him what was so wrong with a quick fuck in the bathroom, or even taking Sasuke up on his invitation to visit his place. They couldn't go to Naruto's apartment and have much privacy since he had a roommate. A nosy one at that, who knew he was out on a date.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto said while the other man was getting ready to line up the finishing blow that would solidify his defeat.

Sasuke looked up, his gaze a mix of amusement, lust, and curiosity. "Yes?"

"If you win, do you want somethin' else besides a drink?" He smiled. "Somethin' small, I mean, but a compromise. Between what I want, and what you want."

"A kiss?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, one kiss."

"Only one? Will you let me pick where?" He was smirking again.

" _I_ pick where," Naruto insisted, eyeing him with humor. "But I'll allow you the privilege."

Sasuke shrugged. "Seems fair."

And, just like that, he took his shot after calling the side pocket. It slipped right in, and Sasuke, setting his cue against the table, came around to Naruto's side. He looked into Naruto's eyes, smiled one of those sexy crooked smiles, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and pulled him in for a kiss so good Naruto's body reacted by taking all the strength from his knees.

If Sasuke hadn't slipped an arm around his waist when he moved in to kiss him, he might have lost his balance. Naruto's head and chest went light, body reacting on instinct. He pressed up against the other man, able to feel his hard muscles through the contact. He forgot they were in public, and he did open his mouth to Sasuke, but only the tips of their tongues touched before Sasuke pulled away. While Naruto struggled to get out his words, like _where the hell did you learn to kiss like that_ , the other man took hold of a piece of his hair and tucked it behind his ear. It was such a charming, endearing gesture that Naruto melted. After pressing a hand to Sasuke's chest and gazing at him like some lovesick schoolboy, he pulled him in close by the front of his shirt and kissed him again. Sasuke gave no complaint, returning the kiss while sneaking a hand under the back of Naruto's shirt.

When they parted, he was definitely breathing heavy. Sasuke was composed, but the look in his eyes was dark, intense, and certainly got the attention of his cock.

Naruto cleared his throat. "Uh… has anyone ever told you you're an amazing kisser?"

"I hope that's rhetorical."

"It has to be because anyone who's kissed you would be lying if they said otherwise."

"Now, why would they say otherwise?" Sasuke mused, still holding him in place, close enough that anyone would've guessed they were about to throw down on top of this table soon.

He shook his head. "No idea. My thought processes have dulled."

"I'm flattered," Sasuke purred near his ear. "But, I am a gentleman. At least tonight I am, so I'm trying very hard to respect your wishes, Naruto."

"And I'm trying very hard to stick to the rules I set for myself tonight."

"And how's that going for you?" Sasuke nipped at his earlobe. "Hm?"

"You sexy bastard," Naruto muttered.

"Now what, Naruto? We can grab one of those loveseats and watch the band for a while, or we can go somewhere else? The city's big. It doesn't have to be my apartment."

"I can't think at the moment," he complained as he felt Sasuke's lips brush the side of his neck.

Sasuke chuckled, his hot breath hitting Naruto's skin. He pulled Sasuke even closer to him, a hand on the other man's back, then his belt, then the top of his ass.

"Aren't you used to making life or death decisions?" Sasuke asked. "Something like this should be very simple for you."

"I've always been better at makin' decisions where other people are concerned than makin' them for myself."

Almost affectionately, Naruto brushed his cheek to Sasuke's. His fingers tracked an upward path alongside Sasuke's spine. With every muscle he skimmed or touched, his mind wandered to thoughts of Sasuke naked, over him in bed, and thrusting into him so hard it wrecked the plaster of the wall, made neighbors complain, and forced the cops to knock down the apartment door. Yet, they'd still be fucking like they were starved for it. That's the kind of sex he imagined with Sasuke. Fucking while the whole world burned down around them.

So, why was he hesitating at all? He didn't know, and his body was definitely protesting his mind, especially when he got Sasuke to groan just from sucking the side of his throat.

Naruto pulled back enough to look at him. "You decide. I don't wanna make any decisions. I know that's pretty selfish, but I just… can't decide what I want?"

"It _feels_ like you've decided what you want," Sasuke teased, taking hold of Naruto's belt so that their lower bodies aligned, and, yes, Naruto was getting excited.

"Argh." Naruto let his head fall onto Sasuke's shoulder.

Chuckling, Sasuke rubbed his back. "It's fine. Let's go somewhere else. Maybe I can toss you in the fountain in the park to cool you down."

"I know you're jokin', but I'm close to saying yes."

"Are we speaking of the fountain, or something else?"

Naruto lifted his head to glare at him. "Sasuke."

Sasuke looked so damn smug and amused, mocking him for finding him attractive and sexy and clearly knowing the effect he was having on Naruto.

"How about a ferry ride?" Sasuke suggested. "It's slow and monotonous. I'll let you ask a few more questions in your attempt to _get to know_ me."

"Fairy ride?" Naruto smirked. "I already told you no sex tonight."

"Very funny." Sasuke stepped back, putting some unwanted space between them. "I'll even let you pay this time."

"The ferry's free, jerk." Naruto picked up his cue, smiling, and then grabbed Sasuke's so he could put them back in their rack on the wall.

When he returned, he finished the rest of his drink, and watched Sasuke's muscled chest as the other man slipped on his leather jacket, neither of them hiding the hungry way they were looking at one another. A ferry ride might possibly calm his nerves. It was a surprisingly romantic suggestion coming from someone who claimed they weren't interested in romance.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked, picking up Naruto's glass after he'd set it down.

"So polite," Naruto said. "Gonna return that to the bartender?"

"I remember what it was like." But, using his free arm, Sasuke directed him toward the bar by wrapping it around his waist.

Sasuke set the glass on the bartop, thanked the male bartender and waved, and then maneuvered Naruto toward the stairs. By then, he'd removed his arm from around his waist, and was jogging up the stairs alongside Naruto. All he could think was there's no way Sasuke could fake that smile, no way he wasn't enjoying himself at least a little bit in his company, and that maybe it wasn't completely impossible to imagine he could sway Sasuke into accepting a second date. Well, at least if the date kept continuing like it had so far.

* * *

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

While they were on the subway and headed toward the ferry landing on the southern tip of Manhattan, they joked around while the train car jostled them into one another every so often. It wasn't a very full car, so they snagged a couple of seats with plenty of room to spare.

"I'm kind of surprised," he said to Sasuke. "When I first saw you, I mean if we leave out our _first_ interaction, I would've thought you were a lot more, hm. Cold?"

"How am I supposed to take that?" Sasuke asked without looking too bothered about it.

"I think it's your style is all. Like… you're nice. Or, is this your seduction routine?"

"Why? Is it working?"

"Tch." Naruto knocked into him. "Yeah, it is. I think it's funny. Usually there's all that anticipation before somethin' happens, and it's not as bad 'cause we got it out of the way, I s'pose."

"I'd like to think there's a lot more left to explore," Sasuke replied. "Objectively speaking."

"Yeah, but you know what I mean, right?"

"I think I do. I do believe, though, that if at any point I wasn't into you, I would've acted more coldly, or even called it off."

"That's harsh, but I guess that no-nonsense approach makes sense."

"Why? Would you see a date through just to be polite? Even if you have no obligation whatsoever, and staying might lead them on?"

"That's a good point," he said, nodding contemplatively. "Am I too nice?"

"You probably are, but it would take me more time to know for sure. Maybe we're simply different. I couldn't force myself to do that for a stranger, but given your profession, it makes sense for you to have a certain level of patience and compassion?"

Naruto gave him a funny look. "Does that mean you're lacking in both then?"

"With strangers, I said."

He took this information, weighing Sasuke's candidness against this being an admission of a potential personality clash between them. Why did he keep thinking long-term anyway?

"You don't like that, do you?" Sasuke asked. "You look conflicted."

"Heh." Naruto smiled at him. "Sorry. No. I'm still thinkin' about, y'know, whether we're compatible when you're not even interested in dating. I'm tryin' to turn it off. No reason we can't just make a night of it, right?"

"Did I say that's all this was?"

"Wait, it's not? I thought you said - "

"Like I mentioned, I have no expectations. That doesn't mean I'm not enjoying your company right now, or enjoying talking to you without any pre-determined way for us to get to know one another. What you see, I'm afraid, is what you get."

"You really are direct, aren't you?" Naruto commented, both liking and loathing this quality.

"I imagine that, hypothetically, there are things you would both like and dislike about me if we were to get to know each other over time. Then again, it would be different had we started as friends versus this, but throw in that we've already had a sexual encounter, and I don't see the point in trying to predict for a situation that… I don't have any precedent for."

"I'm not sure whether I wanna kiss you or slap you around a little." Naruto squinted at him, but in the end, just having Sasuke's body pressed up against his side was satisfying.

"Why not do both?" Sasuke asked, smirking.

"Are you into that, Sasuke?"

"Depends on the person."

"Okay, rephrase then. Could you be into that with, say, me?"

"Yes, Naruto." Sasuke leaned in closer, his eyes bright. "I could be into that with you."

"You're… really fuckin' charming when you wanna be, you know that?"

"I _am_ putting in effort to win you over if that's what you're wondering, but what I want to win you over for is something I don't know yet. I did say I'm content to go with the flow."

"I think I need things to be more concrete maybe," Naruto replied, "But I think it's all that training and workin' in a hospital that's made me that way. I used to be pretty spontaneous."

"Maybe we can even each other out then."

"So, are you or aren't you proposing a future something or other?"

"I think it's fair to say that barring a massive blow out between us, that, yes, I am."

"Really?" Naruto smiled so wide he was clearly giving away his thoughts on the matter. "Like, a second date would be okay with you? Even if we didn't do anything tonight?"

"I wouldn't expect any man to put out for any reason," Sasuke replied. "Well, maybe a hooker, but that's another story."

"Ah! Do you have a story like that?" Naruto lowered his voice. "Have you really been with a hooker?"

"Do I look like I need to hire a hooker to get laid?" Sasuke asked, his features cooling just a little, like he might've been offended, which wasn't his intention at all.

"No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

"Yeah." Sasuke searched him. "Definitely too nice."

"Maybe you could teach me how to be mean?"

Sasuke let out a laugh. "I could. You're a New Yorker, aren't you? You should already have the ability to be aloof from time to time."

"I can do that, but I'm not with just anyone, I'm with you. We don't know each other, but you're more than a stranger, right? You're my date."

"..."

"What?" He asked. "Did I say somethin' wrong?"

Sasuke's cheeks were flushed, and he glanced away from him.

Naruto tugged on his jacket sleeve. "What's up?"

Sasuke looked his way again, leaning in so close it almost startled him. "I want to kiss you. I'm trying to stop myself."

"Why?" He grinned. "I know you're not shy when it comes to that kinda thing."

"Do you want me to?" Sasuke asked, still staring at him with those bedroom eyes.

"I hope that's rhetorical," Naruto replied, returning his words from earlier.

Just when it looked like Sasuke might follow through, the train announced it was about to reach the final stop, which meant having to get out and trek a couple of blocks to the ferry terminal.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked. "Have you ever even ridden the ferry?"

"Sure, once or twice maybe. Not a lot of need to go to Staten Island."

The train came to a stop and, by then, there were only two other people in their car. They got out together, walking up the flight of the stairs and out the turnstile. Once outside, he followed at Sasuke's side, admiring the clear sky above and the lack people and congestion.

"It's nice out," he remarked. "It takes forever to get here from uptown, and I'm usually so busy workin' or recoverin' from workin' that I don't get down this way much."

"Do you enjoy it?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

"Hm?"

"Your job, I mean. If you work so much, and I imagine it's very stressful. If you don't have a lot of free time. What's the draw?"

"Saving lives is the draw," he replied, sending him a smile and folding his arms behind his head while they walked. "If I had to say it's 'cause it was less time than med school, you can find a job just about anywhere, and… yeah, you have to really like helpin' people because you see a lot of not nice things, and there are days I take it home with me, but I guess I just… love the thrill of each day bein' different. You know what I mean?"

"Not especially," Sasuke replied. "My job has become fairly monotonous, so I'm thinking of applying elsewhere, but having a stable job and income is important."

"It's important, I won't argue that." Naruto dropped his arms to his sides. "But, you also don't wanna stay at a job where you're unhappy or not fulfilled, or, in your case, somethin' that's not challenging enough."

"Why in my case?" Sasuke asked.

Up ahead, he could see the mostly glass building that housed the terminal for the ferry.

"You're smart," he answered as if ticking off a grocery list. "I feel like you're the kinda guy who has a lot goin' on inside his head, and those types need a different puzzle every day. You clearly don't wanna do somethin' that's boring, so I assume the work you do now isn't challenging."

"I don't know," Sasuke said, holding the door open for him. "I imagine it's challenging for other people."

Naruto went inside, waited for him, and then they proceeded up the escalator, him on the step above Sasuke's, but turned around so that they could face one another.

"Heh. But not for you, huh? Are you a genius or somethin'?"

"I consider myself to be intelligent," Sasuke replied. "What about you? What's the reason you need to have a job that's different each day besides boredom?"

"Is that your way of sayin' you don't think I'm nearly as smart as you are?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I didn't say that, but also…" He smirked. "Yes."

Naruto laughed as he stepped off the escalator and glanced around at all the other people waiting to get on the ferry. There were a few food vendors, too. It looked like they'd made it just in time since the overhead monitors showed the next ferry would leave in about 15 minutes. They decided to have a seat on one of the benches, and at least once or twice Naruto had this odd inclination to grab for Sasuke's hand, but he didn't know why.

"Eh, you'd make a good doctor," he said randomly. "They always look down on nurses."

"I wasn't saying I look down on you." Sasuke's tone became stiff; Naruto noted that he could become very defensive and sensitive whenever he thought Naruto was making assumptions about him. Even if he hadn't finished his point yet.

"Well, I wasn't really sayin' you would. I was musin' on the environment in general because of what you said. You're pretty defensive sometimes, you know that?"

"I don't like anyone making assumptions about me is all," Sasuke replied. "Do you?"

"Well, no, but I also wait for them to explain themselves, too."

"Fair enough." Sasuke was clearly still bristling, so there was a minute of tension between them before the other man sighed. "Sorry. I don't know why I said that. I wasn't even bothered."

"Hmm." Naruto stared. "It's okay if you were. I mean, it's not okay for me to offend you, but if you were offended, I'd want you to tell me. I joke a lot, but maybe we don't know each other well enough for you to be aware that you shouldn't take me so literally."

"I should've asked you what you meant instead of jumping down your throat." Sasuke stared back, and Naruto found he wanted to tell him a lot of things only to remember that this was a first date and it would be weird to start talking about very deep, personal things out of nowhere. It was just that Sasuke was reasonable and very easy to talk to.

"What?" Sasuke asked when Naruto had been staring at him without saying anything for five minutes. "Are you angry at me?"

"No." Naruto scrunched his nose. "Stop doin' that. I was only thinkin' you're easy to talk to, but then you got all defensive on me again. I bet you have older siblings."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "What would make you guess that?"

"Just a hunch." He shrugged. "Do you?"

"An older brother." Sasuke shifted on the bench, causing his elbow to brush against Naruto's side. "He's in Japan. When my parents divorced, he stayed there with my father."

"Ah, and you moved with your mother to L.A."

"Yes."

Naruto thought this might be a sore subject, so even if it was his instinct to ask more questions (because that's how he got to know people), he decided to hold back. Divorces could be messy, and if Sasuke's mother needed to put an ocean between her and Sasuke's dad in order to move on, then maybe that was a conversation for a fourth or fifth date. For a while, Sasuke glanced around the waiting area, which made Naruto feel bad. He didn't mean to sour their good mood.

"Hey, Sasuke?" He asked, and Sasuke turned to him, very attentively actually.

Again, all those things he wanted to say came to mind, which was so strange because what about Sasuke made him that he could bring up anything, and Sasuke would understand where he was coming from, whether he agreed with what Naruto said or not.

"I'm only thinking," Sasuke said as if reading his mind. "It's a good thing."

"Okay. I wasn't sure because you went all quiet on me. I did wanna say… you're easy to talk to. I'm holdin' back a little, though, since, y'know, I can lose sight of social boundaries from time to time. I don't wanna piss you off or anything, because I'm havin' a good time with you."

"Is my defensiveness rubbing off on you?" Sasuke was smiling, but he bowed his head and looked down for a second before looking up at him again.

"I hit a nerve, didn't I?" Uncomfortable, he laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Maybe. My brother, when we _do_ talk, says similar things to me. You reminded me of him is all. Most of the time he's teasing, but he can also be a hard guy to read. It must be a reflex on my part."

"Is he a lot older?" Naruto asked.

"Five years," Sasuke answered. "He's very bright and successful over there. I'm sure our father is very proud. I know my mother is. Before you say it, yes I guess that does mean I have a brother complex."

Naruto bit his lip, trying not to smile because it was a thought that occurred to him.

"I didn't say anything," he said.

Sasuke nudged him. "You didn't have to," and under his breath added, "Jerk."

"Ah, I get a pet name already?" Naruto bumped him back. "I feel special."

"You were so much more reserved earlier," Sasuke told him. "What happened?"

"I was reserved?" He asked in surprise. "When? When I kissed you in the bar?"

"I kissed _you_ ," Sasuke replied, the humor returning to his eyes.

"Ah, true. It was so long ago," Naruto said, feigning dramatics, "I guess I forgot the details."

Sasuke let out a dark chuckle as he curled in on himself a bit and folded his hands together, dropping them in his lap. He looked so… adorable doing that. Like, younger than his age. It was such a pure and boyish moment that he was seconds away from taking hold of his chin and kissing him. So, when Sasuke turned to him, he must've noticed something in Naruto's face because his eyes also became slightly hooded while they looked at one another.

But, again, they were interrupted by the announcement that the ferry would begin loading passengers. He was the first to get up and stretch, mostly because that particular instant where the chemistry between them was so apparent freaked him out a little. He was left thinking about his last boyfriend, and how it had started so similarly to this, and did he want a relationship, did he want to go through that all again, including that whole courtship process. What if he got attached to Sasuke, but it turned out he wasn't really his style? Yes, he knew it was a first date, but it was hard not to give at least some thought to where this was headed.

Sasuke approached his side, very lightly touching his arm, but even though it was light, Naruto flinched away from the contact.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, sounding concerned.

Naruto tried to push the feeling down, opting for a false smile. "We should get in line, eh?"

He started to walk away, but Sasuke caught him by the arm.

"Did I say or do anything wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"No," Naruto shook his head. "I was just thinking is all. Uh, but not about stuff that's great to bring up on a first date-thing maybe?"

"Okay." Sasuke searched his face.

"Really, I'm fine," he said. "But… when you're worried… you look really hot."

Sasuke smirked. "Is this you trying to deal with your issues by cracking jokes?"

"Yes."

"Do you want me to ask about that?" Sasuke put an arm around his shoulders and got him moving toward the already-forming line. The touch didn't bother him this time.

"You mean, like what's my relationship to my mother, or how did my father feel about havin' a gay son, that sort of thing?"

Sasuke snorted. "At least that'd be something I could relate to."

"Eh, it's not about that. I was thinkin' about… well. Like I said, inappropriate."

"Picturing me naked already?" Sasuke teased.

"I've already pictured you naked," Naruto replied frankly. "Tch. Don't dig for compliments."

"I don't have to," said Sasuke. "When you give them so freely."

They were in line, but hearing him sound so sincere, Naruto turned to him, and Sasuke removed his arm from around his shoulders. Curiously, Sasuke eyed him, and Naruto, having reached his limit, took hold of the lapels of the man's leather jacket and dragged him closer, forcing Sasuke to take a short step forward. There was a warmth in his chest, and his eyelids felt heavy.

"For maybe 10 minutes, can you not say anything that makes me wanna kiss you?"

"You ask the impossible," Sasuke said, lowering his voice. "Maybe if I keep my mouth shut."

Naruto smirked, his hand sliding down the length of the zipper on Sasuke's coat. "Do you remember anything about that night? I mean… Me? If it was good? I can't say I remember every detail perfectly, but I know that I really enjoyed blowin' you against that wall."

"It's hard to forget something like that, or do you figure that's an act I get up to frequently?"

"I figure it's an act you could get as often as you wanted 'cause you're sexy as fuck," he answered, his voice also low and husky, fingers trailing up the zipper again. "I'm not saying it's somethin' you get up to, just that you could if you wanted, and it would be justified."

"Well, I'm not like that…" Sasuke wet his bottom lip. "Are we going or not because if we aren't, I'm going to pull you into a bathroom stall and suck you off for feeding my ego all night."

"Is that all it takes?" Naruto smirked. "I say a few nice things, and you're like putty in my hands?"

"That's some very interesting phrasing," Sasuke replied, and Naruto had to chuckle. "Come on then." He put an arm around Naruto's shoulders. "I'll take you on a different kind of ferry ride."

While the line started moving forward, Naruto slipped his arm around Sasuke's waist, keeping his hold on him loose. He kept laughing every once in a while, and could easily say that he was in a very good mood. When was the last time he clicked with someone this well?

"What do you keep laughing about?" Sasuke asked, moving away from him only when they'd walked up the ramp and onto the boat, heading up the stairs to the main level.

"Nothin'." Naruto glanced at him and smiled. "Where are we goin'?"

"Follow me." Sasuke briefly grabbed the cuff of his jacket sleeve to pull him to the right. They went through a door that led outside, where there were several benches that ran the length of the ferry. It was apparently the spot to be because everyone was already trying to lay claim to the seats or up against the rail.

"Must be prime real estate, huh?" He asked.

"It's got the best view of the skyline and Statue of Liberty," he replied.

"Ah, have you ever been? I mean, all the way up and everything?"

"I haven't. Have you?"

"Hm. No, I can't say I have. I haven't done much of any of the touristy stuff, to be honest. I get a panic attack just walkin' through Times Square."

"That's enough to terrify anyone," Sasuke mumbled.

"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto turned to him on the bench.

"Hm?"

"Have you… ever had a date like this? Where you just did whatever?"

"I can't say I have," Sasuke answered with a furrowed brow. "But, like I said. I don't date much. I don't like to date. To me, this doesn't feel like a date."

Naruto didn't know if he should take offense or not. He bit his lip. "No?"

Sasuke glanced at him; the ferry pushed away from the dock, moving slow. Some people were getting off the bench to go stand against the rail, obscuring some of the view.

"I only mean," he said. "That it doesn't feel as forced as other dates. It doesn't feel forced at all."

"Maybe any date could be like this if you wanted it to?" Naruto asked. "Maybe these are your style of dates. You were the one who suggested leavin' the restaurant. Why do that?"

"I don't know." Sasuke did that thing where he shrugged up his shoulders again. Naruto's gaze fell to his hands, which were both gripping the bench. "I guess I thought if we stayed there, it'd feel suffocating? It just felt like the right thing for us to do. Am I wrong?"

Sasuke was looking at him so intensely. He swallowed, once again distracted by how good looking the other man was, especially those damn dark eyes. It's almost like they served to back up the intention behind his words. So serious. By nature, Naruto wasn't an especially serious person. Work made him serious. When lives were at stake, he was serious.

"No," he replied. "Clearly I don't think you were wrong. I followed you. I'm havin' a good time, and I like that you feel comfortable. It makes it easier for me to get to know you, too. Can I ask you a couple of those cliche questions you hate so much?"

Sasuke smirked, staring straight ahead as he leaned back against the bench and spread his arms out, one going behind Naruto. "Go for it. I'm in a good mood."

"Ah, very generous." He smiled, leaning back, too, so that he was resting against Sasuke's arm. "What do you look for in a guy? Let's forget the fact you don't like datin', and have now said that to your current date two or three times tonight, but… what _do_ you like?"

"You're asking me what my type is?" Sasuke turned his head, looking at him again.

He nodded. "Yeah, basically. Out of curiosity more than anything."

"Well, if it's only for curiosity's sake," Sasuke murmured. "I'd say if we're speaking romantically, it would be a man who's independent. I wouldn't want anyone who's clingy. He should be honest, in theory, but I don't mind admitting I have a temper sometimes, so I might not always show that I appreciate frankness. But, I do."

Naruto, crossing his arms, gazed across the waters at the Jersey shore lit up against the night sky. "Alright. So. Not clingy and honest. Also willing to put up with your mood swings."

"I didn't phrase it like that," Sasuke grumbled.

"I was _paraphrasing_. Please continue. Or, is that it?"

"Physically, he should be fit. Not horrible to look at, around my height or taller, active."

Naruto nodded again. "Sounds reasonable. Like a gym rat, though, or a few times a week?"

"No gym rats," Sasuke answered. "Too much maintenance. I don't want to be eating kale every meal."

"Kale is good for you," Naruto chirped, shooting him a sly grin. "Iron is good for you, Sasuke. It helps build _stamina_."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying about my stamina?"

"Oh, nothin' much." Naruto grinned even wider. "The details are so very fuzzy."

"What about you?"

"Are you askin' about my stamina, or the type of guy I'm into?"

Reaching over, Sasuke suddenly flicked him in the forehead. "Stop being cute. What kind of guy are you into? The stamina I can figure out on my own."

"Ow." Naruto felt the spot.

"I didn't even flick you hard."

"It was the emotional scarring that hurt," he replied. "Heh. My type, eh? Are we wanting to keep it general, or am I goin' off actual past relationships?"

"Either," Sasuke suggested. "Both."

"Last was older than me, but not by much. Uh, very serious. He was in med school. I met him while I was doin' a practical for one of my senior capstone classes. He was a surgical intern."

"That certainly sets the bar high," Sasuke remarked. "I'm surprised to hear he was serious. You seem the type to be into someone more easy-going."

"I usually am," said Naruto. "I liked his serious side, though. Thought it was sexy, but he was a perfectionist kind of. I mean, that's somethin' you kinda want in a surgeon, but as a boyfriend… eh."

"And how was his stamina?" Sasuke asked, while taking hold of Naruto's shoulder and pulling him slightly closer. It was getting cold, so the warmth was nice.

"Technically flawless," Naruto answered thoughtfully. "But, not a lot of passion."

Sasuke chuckled. "What did he look like?"

"Pale complexion, dark hair." Naruto looked pointedly at him, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "He had long hair, very, uh, kinda aristocratic features. I used to say to myself he had a very symmetrical face. These intense, pale blue eyes. That's what originally caught my eye. Also the way he carried himself. He was very confident, capable. I was young. He seemed so reliable, and I'd only ever had screw-up boyfriends. Guys in bands or they only wanted to go out and party, and I'd be like 'Yeah, I have a 12-hour shift at the hospital tomorrow'."

"So, what happened?" Sasuke asked. "I take it you weren't with this guy the night of your birthday?"

"We still talk. It just sorta fizzled out, and bein' a guy who was going to become a great surgeon, but slummin' it with a nurse? I think he probably wanted an upgrade."

"Is that why you made the one comment earlier? About doctors and nurses."

Naruto frowned. "I dunno. Maybe. It's a thing that happens pretty often. You get used to it."

"All I learned from that is a guy who's reliable. Possibly of my complexion," Sasuke stated it as if it's a question, so Naruto replied with a noncommittal nod of the head. "Not a doctor, and you're growing out of the partying stage and want someone more mature. Are you… looking for a serious relationship right now, Naruto? Or are you in the market for something short-term."

"That is the question, isn't it?" He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, slightly distracted as the Statue of Liberty started coming into view. "I dunno. I agreed to a blind date because, like I said, a friend of a friend of a friend, and my friend wouldn't let up until I said yes. How much they knew about you specifically, I dunno, but whoever your friend is was also adamant."

"Colleague," Sasuke corrected. "We're barely friends."

"So you do what your barely friends ask you to do?"

"It was a supervisor, so, in this instance, I thought it would be beneficial."

"Hm. Interesting. I should probably be mildly insulted, but we're both in the same boat." He grinned, realizing his own joke. "That pun wasn't planned, by the way."

Sasuke snorted. "Why don't we agree we're having a good time, and see where the rest of the night goes? I'm not opposed to a second date, assuming you don't reveal anything too crazy."

"Where would you draw the line?" Naruto asked.

"That you have to ask worries me," Sasuke glanced at him.

"I don't think I have anything too crazy. I also would prefer you're not a racist. Or a bigot. Preferably not a Republican, but we can work around it so long as you didn't vote for Trump."

"I think I agree with you on all those points, and, no, I'm far from being Republican."

"Thank God," he said. "I hoped you weren't one of those self-loathing gays."

"You think all gay men who are also Republican are self-loathing?"

"Not _all_ ," Naruto replied. "Nowadays? It's hard to tell. I don't really understand the point of supporting a political party that works against your interests."

"Maybe they think as long as we have gay marriage, the rest is just details."

"Yeah, but how long are we gonna have that? They could repeal that, too, and next we can't adopt kids either, can't buy our cake from that bakery around the corner for our civil union, and we're back to the 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy."

"I don't know about you," said Sasuke, "But I worked hard to come out of the closet, so I won't be going back in any time soon."

Naruto smiled, slightly invigorated by Sasuke's words. "I like your gay pride, Sasuke. Do you go to parades and stuff? Ever been to any of the ones held in the city?"

"Once here. In San Francisco. Not as much in L.A., but the scene there is… different."

"How so?" He asked. "I've been once is all."

Sasuke shrugged. "A little more wild, but also a little more fake."

"Hm. I'll take your word for it."

There was a comfortable silence for a while between them, the low hum of the ferry's motor relaxing him further against Sasuke. They were just passing the Statue of Liberty now, so more people were taking photos from against the rail. Naruto gazed up at the stars.

"What do you wanna do after this?" He asked.

"Are you always wondering what happens next?" Sasuke squeezed his shoulder. "Can't you relax?"

"I dunno. I really used to be a lot better at it, but now I guess I do think more about time management, and so I end up thinkin' 'well what comes next' so that I can prioritize. It's a work thing, hard habit to break."

"Ah," Sasuke said simply, accepting him at his word. "Understandable."

"I could try to cut back on that. When I'm not at work, I need to learn to relax. I should do more yoga or somethin'. I usually just go work out, occasionally do spin classes, and run."

"Maybe try some more outdoor activities," Sasuke suggested. "Like kayaking or paddleboarding."

He hummed placidly. "Maybe I should. Do you do that kind of stuff?"

"I do," Sasuke replied.

"Not gonna offer to take me sometime?"

"I'm thinking about it."

Naruto chuckled. "You're an interesting guy."

Sasuke glanced at him. "That should be my line."

"This is relaxin', though. I think it helps when you're forced to just stay put. What happens when we get there?"

"We come right back," said Sasuke. "Unless you want to hang out in Staten Island."

He made a face. "Not really."

"Meanwhile, I'm going to use the restroom." Sasuke, removing his arm from around him, got to his feet. "They have a concession stand in there, do you want anything? A drink, or…?"

Naruto smiled at the offer. "Nah, I'm good. But thanks for askin'."

"Sure. I'll be right back."

He watched him go, liking Sasuke's unhurried, casual pace. Not to mention his ass. He could never get tired of watching him walk away. Smirking, Naruto got to his feet and decided to go stand against the railing. He took out his phone with the intention of taking a couple of photos, but realized he had several missed calls and a message. His heart sank since it was probably someone at the hospital paging him to come back in. Well, fuck. Not having much of a choice, Naruto listened to his messages, which meant having to sit through an extremely long, nearly incoherent one from his roommate who'd apparently been drinking tonight.

The next one, however, was from a colleague asking if they could switch shifts. She'd take Naruto's early shift tomorrow, and he'd take hers on Saturday. It would've meant he didn't have to worry about cutting the night short with Sasuke. Not that the other man necessarily would want to spend it with him. He should do it anyway since she was asking as a favor, but…

Sasuke had returned and, spotting him by the rail, came to stand beside him, giving him an inquisitive look, but otherwise waiting for Naruto to finish.

"It's work," he said, by way of an apology as he ended the call to his voicemail.

Sasuke nodded. "Do you need to go after this?"

"The opposite, sort of."

Sasuke's eyebrow went up. "What do you mean?"

"Uh, a colleague asked if I wanna switch shifts this weekend. I was supposed to go in at 11 tomorrow, but she said she wants to take my shift, and I'd work hers on Saturday."

Naruto searched the other man's face, but he didn't give a reaction one way or the other, so it was hard to discern whether this news interested him at all, pleased, or displeased him. He decided to think on it for a few minutes, and, dropping his phone into his coat pocket, turned to look out at the water.

"You don't want to switch with her?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't have to. I mean, what did you wanna do after this anyway?"

Sasuke leaned into him slightly. "What are you doing right now?"

"Huh?" He asked. "What do you mean?"

"I can tell you're waiting on me to say something. You can just say it."

"I'm not really waitin' on you to say anything, just couldn't read if it mattered whether I switched shifts or not. If I don't, I'm not gonna be able to stay out forever, or I'll be a wreck tomorrow."

"It's not my place to ask you to take it or tell you not to," Sasuke replied.

"No, I know," he said. "I was just thinkin' is all." Naruto looked at him and smiled.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"What?" Naruto asked calmly.

"I don't like games. For the record."

"It's not a game," he said, a little irritably. "I know it doesn't matter to you whether I switch or not. I'm only thinkin' about my options. It's not like I can jump off the ferry, right?"

"I mean, you can," said Sasuke. "I'm fairly sure I'd stop you, though."

"Heh. That's nice of you to say."

"Of course, if you do switch, we don't have to worry about what we do or how late you can stay out. But, I know you said you already had that long shift, so you might be tired already."

"I am tired," he said. "But, I'm good. Thanks."

Sasuke hummed in a dubious way next to his ear. "Your mood's changed."

Well, he couldn't disagree with that, and not having a reasonable explanation for it, decided it was best to be quiet for a while. The water was choppy, but it didn't have affect the way the ferry moved. It was still a smooth ride. Sasuke remained next to him, close enough that their arms almost touched as they leaned against the railing. He didn't say anything either. It wasn't an awkward silence per se, just contemplative. At least for him. They remained that way for about 10 minutes before Sasuke cleared his throat.

"What if we, after this, walk to the bridge?" Sasuke asked. "It's a mile from the terminal. It should take 20 minutes."

"Okay," he said simply.

"That was easy."

Naruto shrugged. "I've lived here almost six years and never walked on the Brooklyn Bridge. I think it sounds like a good idea."

"Okay." Sasuke nudged him. "So, when are you going to tell your colleague that you want to switch shifts so you can hang out with me longer?"

Naruto immediately perked up. He turned his head so quick to look at him he likely gave himself whiplash. "What?"

"If we're headed that direction already, we can make our way through Brooklyn."

"Tch. You just wanna get me back to that club, don't you?" He asked.

"I'm not in the mood for dancing tonight," Sasuke replied. "I do live in Brooklyn, but I'm not trying to gradually force you closer and closer to my place or anything."

He said it with such a straight face that Naruto barked out a laugh.

"Jerk." Naruto pressed against him and sighed. "I'll tell her it's cool, but you're under no obligation to spend any more time with me than you want to or can stand."

"I know. I would've thought you'd pick up on the fact I'm not the type of guy to stick around when I don't want to just to be polite."

"I know," he said. "I was just sayin'. I've kinda got the munchies."

"Tch. I said I'd get you something from the concession area."

"Nah. It's okay. Maybe there's somewhere along the way to the bridge we can stop?"

"If you want," Sasuke said mildly.

"You didn't really eat anything tonight. Aren't you hungry?" Naruto asked.

"You let me have some of your _shawarma_ earlier."

"What? You don't like that kinda food? You told me you weren't racist!" He teased, faking outrage. "What kinda food _do_ you like? I guess I picked Amelie for us to meet, but you didn't offer any suggestions, so one of us had to."

"Japanese food," Sasuke replied.

"Tch. Typical."

"You didn't let me finish. In order of favorites: Japanese, Italian, Thai, Indian, and whatever fried chicken falls under. I like all Asian foods, really. I'm not too terribly picky. Simple is best. But with a lot of flavor. Sound familiar?"

Naruto almost choked on his own laughter. "What is with you? You got all… funny on me."

"I can be funny," Sasuke replied defensively. "When I'm in the mood." Again, he slipped an arm around Naruto's waist, but it was very brief. Almost like he didn't mean to.

"What was that?" He asked, not letting him get away with it.

"Nothing."

"Uh, pretty sure it was somethin'," Naruto taunted. "Only 'cause you pulled away. You didn't mean to do that, did you? Ah, see. I'm rubbin' off on you. You wanna put your arms around me and exchange witty one-liners and ask questions that help us get to know each other!"

"Shut up," Sasuke told him, placing a hand to his shoulder and pushing him away.

Naruto inched back toward him until they were shoulder-to-shoulder. "Sa _suke_."

"What."

He snickered. "You're bein' really fuckin' cute right now, you know that?"

"Tch."

"Oh, keep doin' that. Yeah, it's doin' somethin' for me."

"Then you have a very twisted assortment of kinks," Sasuke replied, turning to look at him while the wind caused his bangs to scatter across his forehead. "What? You're staring now."

"Yeah, because - " He stopped himself and, biting his lip, debated whether or not he wanted to do the thing he wanted to do.

"Because?" Sasuke asked, waiting for his answer.

"Because I'm gonna end up pullin' a you. Now you've got me all self-conscious!"

"What? What did _I_ do?" Sasuke argued.

"Now I don't know if you'll freak out if I try somethin', you know, kinda affectionate."

Sasuke's expression changed, like he was closing off, but then he gave Naruto this _look_ as he straightened up instead of leaning over the rail.

"What's that look, huh?" Naruto asked softly, his smile going crooked.

"Surprised you'd second guess yourself is all," Sasuke answered, still staring at him in that intense, magnetizing way.

"Says the guy who freaked out when he put his arm around my waist. Anyway, the moment's passed, but I won't hesitate next time," he said. "I promise."

"I see. A sneak attack." Sasuke nodded. "Now I'll be expecting it. You'd make a lousy ninja."

"Tell me about it," he replied with a snort. "I like bright colors too much. You should see my scrub collection."

"You know, in all my life, I don't think anyone's ever said that to me." Sasuke broke into a smile.

"No?" He asked. "No one's ever invited you into their place and done a little fashion show for you where you got to see their assortment of hospital scrubs?"

Grabbing hold of the rail, Sasuke leaned back on his heels. Another gesture that made Naruto want to jump on his back, but Sasuke's words about clinginess came to mind, so, once again, he didn't act on impulse. He _really_ didn't want to turn Sasuke off. It was hard for him to not act on the things he instinctively wanted to do. It's like he kept forgetting they were strangers.

"Say, Sasuke…?" He asked, without really having a coherent question in mind.

"Yes, Naruto?"

When Sasuke flashed him one of those boyish, mocking grins, Naruto caught him by the back of the neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Sasuke didn't immediately respond, so he almost thought he'd done something wrong, but then the other man gripped his coat and returned the kiss. But, rather than match Naruto's more insistent pace, he slowed the kiss down. A hand settled on his hip, but then both of Sasuke's arms wrapped around him, and he deepened their kiss. Naruto slid his fingers through Sasuke's hair, loving its coarseness and the short tips. Ah, that felt so much better. He was relaxing now that Sasuke was being so responsive and even taking control of the kiss, sometimes pulling back just enough to look at Naruto and nip at his lips. He liked to make eye contact, too, which got Naruto to thinking about sex with Sasuke and having those eyes staring back at him while they fucked. Shit, he was going to get hard if he didn't control himself, and they were on a family-friendly ferry ride at the moment.

Reluctantly, he pulled away first, but he remained in Sasuke's arms. He suddenly grew shy, so when Sasuke laughed and dragged him into a hug - even patting his back - he was surprised. It was so affectionate, but in an intimate kind of way. It seemed un-Sasukelike. Or, did Sasuke merely open up naturally over time? He was a hard guy to read. Sasuke had told him he wasn't into dating, but had agreed to a blind date. Was he contradictory, or did Naruto have the right to believe he might be making a slight impression on him? The prospect excited him because he really liked Sasuke and wanted the other man to like him back. But, he had this fear, only because of things Sasuke had said throughout the night, that if he pushed too hard or acted too much like himself, that Sasuke would get scared off. It's not like Naruto had been looking for anything serious. He worked so much he didn't think about things like dating or boyfriends, but… Well, people always said love came to you when you weren't looking for it. Of course, this wasn't love or anything, but Naruto couldn't help thinking of something more happening between them. In the future anyway. Because Sasuke was… not really his type. Only because he'd never really met anyone like him. It was new and exciting, and also… scary.

While Sasuke was watching him, there was an announcement that the ferry would be docking and then immediately de-boarding. Everyone would have to clear the boat and then get right back on. As other people started shuffling toward the exit, they were still looking at one another.

"You look like you're thinking a lot of things," Sasuke whispered.

"I am. I'm thinkin' about all the steps in performing a tracheotomy."

"Pardon?"

"Nothin'." He shook his head and forced a grin. "I'm just doin' that thing again where, yeah, I'm thinkin' about all the steps involved with something, the decisions you have to make, what's right or what's wrong, and then how bein' indecisive can be fatal in certain situations."

"This isn't one of those situations," Sasuke replied, and, taking hold of his hand, led him toward the other end of the ferry. He gave Naruto's hand a squeeze, and Naruto squeezed back.

Though, this was beyond nice, that fear inside him grew.

"You shouldn't be so nice to me," Naruto said, without having really planned to.

"Why's that?" Sasuke asked, swinging their hands as he gazed up at the sky, then at him.

"I'm starting to like you a whole damn lot, and I don't wanna freak you out."

Sasuke stopped walking; Naruto's terror rose as they stood face to face.

"That's the terrifying situation you were talking about?"

Naruto pulled a face. "Well, when you put it that way, sounding all mocking and stuff…"

"I'm not mocking you," Sasuke replied. "I'm… flattered, and I like that you told me."

"Why does it feel like you're gonna follow that up with a 'but'?"

"I don't know," answered Sasuke, and he turned again while dragging Naruto along with him. "I guess we can talk about it on the way back, or on our walk to the bridge, or wherever we stop along the way so that you can get something to eat and calm down some."

"Tch. I'm calm!" Naruto stuck out his bottom lip, even though Sasuke wasn't looking at him. "You think you're so damn smooth. Jerk. If I knew any Japanese, I'd curse at you!"

"Uh huh." Sasuke pushed him forward a few steps, forcing their hands to let go, but then he slid an arm around Naruto's waist, turned to him, and nipped at his ear. "Naruto?"

"What?" He grumbled.

"Shut up for a while, won't you?"

Naruto glared at him, but didn't say anything further.

Sasuke smirked.

Naruto glared harder. "You suck."

"I knew you wouldn't last more than 30 seconds."

"When you phrase it like that," Naruto also smirked, "It's like that night in the alley is comin' back to me so clearly now! Did _you_ even last 30 seconds?"

"I don't remember the exact amount of time it took, but if it was that short," said Sasuke, "We might have to stop somewhere on the way to pick up some kale."

Naruto laughed so hard, he hunched forward and nearly tripped over himself as they were walking toward the ramp off of the ferry.

"How dare you question my stamina for a second time," Sasuke mumbled. "You're going to give me a complex."

"It's okay." Naruto slipped his own arm around Sasuke's middle. "If you do come too fast, that just means I get to do it all over again 20 minutes later or so."

"I bet you know all about the male anatomy, don't you?" Sasuke asked. "As a nurse, I mean."

"Heh. I knew what you meant. Ass."

"Hn."

"So, basically we're gettin' off this thing just to turn right back around and get on again?" Naruto asked him.

"Basically," Sasuke replied. "Which means neither of us gets the chance to run away."

* * *

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

The ferry ride back to Manhattan involved a lot more joking around and easy conversation between the two of them. They were walking along Broad Street, in no hurry on their way to the bridge now that Naruto had decided to switch shifts with his co-worker. He was thinking it was lucky the weather was so nice tonight. When they were about a block away from a Duane Reade, Naruto dragged Sasuke inside with him, so that he could find something to eat while on their walk. They split up, with Sasuke going up on the escalator, and Naruto headed toward the junk food aisle. He didn't usually indulge in snacks, but he just wanted something quick and easy. He picked up a couple of things, including a pack of gum. Sasuke might appreciate that for later.

By the time Naruto had checked out with his stuff, Sasuke was coming down the escalator, so maybe he hadn't found what he'd been looking for. He was also checking out something on his phone, but as he stepped off, he glanced up at Naruto and smiled.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Sasuke asked.

"I found a few things. Probably won't eat any of it, but it's there if I need it. My blood sugar was feelin' kinda low maybe."

"Is that so?" Sasuke asked, looking concerned. "Are you feeling alright?"

"No, yeah. I am. I didn't eat much the last two days is all. If it gets busy at the hospital, hard to grab some time to eat anything substantial, or I'm stuck goin' to the cafeteria."

"Hm. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea I denied you a nice dinner," Sasuke remarked.

"Nah. But," Naruto dug into his bag, "I did get this." He shook his pack of gum at Sasuke. "So you don't have to taste shawarma all night."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That's rather presumptuous of you."

Naruto laughed as he unwrapped the packaging and pulled out a piece. "Did you want some?"

"Yes, because I hope to make out with you some more tonight." He reached ot for it, even making a "gimme" hand, which had Naruto chuckling again.

"There you go." He dropped it into Sasuke's hand and smiled widely. "So, shall we continue on our journey then?"

"Let's."

They walked out of the store, continuing along their way, Naruto occasionally blowing a bubble until it popped. The traffic rushed past them. It was nice to be doing something like this because he hardly ever walked around the city with no real plan or set destination. Now that he didn't have to work tomorrow - ah, strike that because it was after midnight now - he felt even less concerned about where the night would lead. Sasuke also seemed content and without worry.

"You really don't have to go in tomorrow?" Naruto asked. "Or, should I say today, I guess? It's a quarter after midnight. I dunno where the time went."

"Time flies when you're having fun," Sasuke muttered. "I noticed the time in the store. No, I took today off, which is why I texted you that Thursday night worked for me."

"Ah, okay." He swung his bag at his side, thinking Sasuke sounded slightly terse, but it could've been his imagination. "It's unusual to have a Friday off, so I was just wonderin'."

"I can work at home from time to time," Sasuke replied, "But, I usually don't. I don't take a day off very often, so in that regard, it's a little unusual for me."

"Any particular reason you took it off then?" He asked.

"Is it really so important?"

Ah, so it wasn't his imagination.

"No," Naruto replied carefully. "Sorry I asked."

When Sasuke abruptly stopped, Naruto paused a few feet ahead of him and turned around.

"Sorry," Sasuke said, staring at the ground. "It's not a particularly important reason. I got an annoying text while we were in the store, so my mind was elsewhere for a few minutes."

Naruto walked over to him. "Oh? Everything okay?"

Sasuke raised his eyes. "Everything's fine." He snatched the bag out of Naruto's hand. "I'll carry this for you."

Naruto smiled. "Aren't you the gentleman? Makin' it up to me, eh?"

"If I can," Sasuke answered. "Tell me some stuff. Take my mind off of things."

"Alright. What would you like to know? Do you wanna hear some disgusting stories about my job? That's usually what people ask about."

"Not unless you really want to tell me," Sasuke replied, as the two of them began walking again, side by side and at an easy pace.

"Well, there was this one time we were startin' to cut open a cadaver in school, and it turned out the guy wasn't actually dead."

"You're lying," said Sasuke, sending him a glare.

Naruto laughed. "I am. That didn't happen to me, but I did hear of someone once who worked in the morgue and when they went to unzip the body bag, the guy was completely awake."

"Thanks for that," Sasuke told him, looking uncomfortable. "Something to look forward to as we get older, I suppose."

"Dying or wakin' up in the morgue?" He asked.

"Both. Either."

Naruto glanced at him to see if he were kidding, but it was hard to say based solely off his expression. If they'd known each other well, he might've stopped and hugged him or even grabbed for his hand, but he was under the impression Sasuke didn't like to be pitied or babied in any way, so Naruto let it go for now and opted to change the subject.

"I'm glad to get to know another person living in Brooklyn," he commented breezily. "I have to admit I don't hang out there as often as I do Queens or the Bronx."

"No? Yet you were apparently down there on your birthday."

"Yeah, well." Naruto scratched at his cheek. "My friends were draggin' me all _around_ the city that night, and we happened to end up there. We definitely started out way uptown."

"Lucky me," Sasuke replied.

"Heh. I'm flattered you think so."

Looking ahead, they were only a block away from the start of the bridge.

"It was probably a relief for you back then," he said. "But sorry for takin' off right after."

Sasuke snorted. "Strange thing to apologize for after giving a guy a blowjob."

"That's what I meant by _relief_ ," he replied, flashing a smirk. "We went to one more bar before I passed out. They had to throw me in the back of a cab. My friends are the type to think they're pretty funny, too, so when I woke up, I had marker designs all over my body. Not all of 'em came off either, so I had patients and supervisors who looked at me funny the next day."

"Sounds like fun," said Sasuke.

"What did you do afterward?" Naruto asked. "Anything?"

"Went home, I'm sure, and wrote about the whole experience on my blog. It's not very often I'm accosted by a hot blond man in an alleyway and then thrown away like I'm a piece of meat."

For a fraction of a second, Naruto almost thought he was serious until he saw him smirking.

"You're so damn sarcastic, you know that?" Naruto complained.

"You're not wrong," Sasuke replied. "I'm drier than the Sahara, or so I'm told."

"Hmph."

He pouted a while, at least until they were on the walkway headed for the bridge. The path split so people walking from the other end had their own space. They also had to share the route with bike riders. Since it wasn't late, there weren't a whole lot of people, but there were tourists who kept stopping every few feet to take a selfie. They moved more to the right to stay out of the way. It was kind of cool, doing something he hadn't done before. With Sasuke.

"What are you grinning about?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothin'," he replied cheerfully.

Sasuke leaned in close enough to bump his arm. "Liar."

"Heh." He chuckled. "Just thinkin' this is kinda romantic in its own way. Doin' somethin' I haven't before with you, and that it was your suggestion."

"Romantic?" Sasuke made a face.

"I meant in a general kind of way," he explained, not especially encouraged by Sasuke's continued aversion to romance. "The idea of doin' somethin' new with a stranger is… nice."

"Ah, I see."

"Why are you so opposed to romance anyway?" Naruto asked curiously. "Didn't get a lot of valentines from the kids in your class?"

"No. I'd say the opposite." Sasuke frowned.

"I get it. You were pretty popular, eh?"

"With girls."

Naruto laughed. "I see your dilemma. Were you out in high school, or no?"

"I wasn't. I mean, not really. I didn't go out of my way to hide it," Sasuke answered. "But, I've never had a particular interest in flaunting my private life either."

"I can see that about you. I have to admit, though. If we're still talkin' generally. I don't mind a bit of romance from time to time, but when I think about it, I'm not sure what I consider romantic? Cliche, sweeping gestures aren't what I'd want. What do you think?"

"I think it's already difficult to find someone you can stand," replied Sasuke, "I wouldn't want to push my luck expecting it to be a smooth ride all the time. I guess I don't see love and romance in a way that includes fireworks going off every second."

"It could also be you haven't found the right person," Naruto offered thoughtfully. "I feel the same, but only 'cause no one's ever swept me off my feet."

"No. Not even your last boyfriend?"

"Obviously not if he's an ex. Feels rude to bring up on a date or whatever this is, and I liked him enough that I wouldn't speak too ill of him."

"That's admirable."

"I know. I try to remain humble when possible," Naruto said and, after sharing a look, they both laughed. "So, since the ferry ride was somethin' I hadn't done before. And, really, this isn't somethin' I've done before either. Maybe next we should do somethin' you've never done?"

"I wonder what that might be." Sasuke stared off to the right, looking out onto the East River and beyond. "I love seeing all the planes in the sky."

Naruto glanced up at the sky, to where Sasuke was watching. He could see four or five coming in from different directions.

"I really like flyin' into LaGuardia because you get the best view of the skyline, but it always seems like every landing I've had there is hella bumpy."

"Mm? Are you not a fan of flying?" Sasuke asked, and, switching the bag to his other hand, suddenly grabbed for Naruto's.

It was such a surprise that he momentarily lost track of what they'd been talking about.

"What?" He asked.

Sasuke chuckled. "Flying. Do you not like it?"

"No, I do." Naruto smiled. "Not that I fly that often. Hard to get time off from work, and usually I spend my vacations catchin' up on sleep."

"That's too bad," said Sasuke. "I think at least once a month I like to fly somewhere, even if it's not far away. I have an acquaintance who has a pilot's license, so I go with him sometimes."

"Wow, really? Only an acquaintance, and you trust him with your life like that?"

"It's fairly safe." Sasuke frowned. "I suppose he's a friend. Older than me."

"Oh?" Naruto felt the tiniest pang of jealousy for some reason.

"It's not like that." Sasuke squeezed his hand. "He's more of a mentor. If you can even call him that. He's eccentric most of the time, but when he's flying, he's very focused. So, yes, I feel safe, Naruto."

"I hope you didn't take offense," Naruto said. "That would be cool to be able to take off whenever you wanted. I wonder what that's like?"

"Maybe you should've become a doctor," Sasuke suggested, his tone playful. "They seem to take vacations all the time."

"They do," Naruto grumbled. "It's irritating, but I guess when you go through that much schoolin' and make that much money and can leave a lot of the hard work to the nurses, it's no big deal to spend a week golfing in Florida or Hawaii or wherever."

"Never considered being a doctor?"

He shrugged. "Eh. Medical school wouldn't have suited me. I like what I do. I like bein' with the patients, and I like workin' with the other nurses. I could always get my MSN later if I want."

"I like a man who has aspirations," Sasuke said.

Naruto stopped abruptly and pushed him toward the edge of the walkway, close to the rail. Tilting his head, Sasuke stared inquisitively, and, without touching him, Naruto leaned in to place a chaste kiss to his lips. Afterward, he searched Sasuke's face.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothin'." He started walking again. "Just felt like it."

It took a few seconds for the other man to catch up to his side, and Naruto could tell Sasuke kept shooting him glances. Really, all he wanted to do was reward him for saying something good. Whether Sasuke would admit to it or not, he did know how to be charming, which Naruto could almost categorize as a romantic quality.

"Is that what happened the night at the club?" Sasuke asked. "'Just felt like it'?"

Ah, well. That ruined it just a little. Naruto glared at him.

"Really?" He asked.

"I didn't mean it in a negative way," Sasuke explained. "I should've phrased it differently. What I meant to say was: You can be a pretty impulsive kind of person, can't you?"

"When the mood arises, yeah. It's like I'm gettin' in touch with my old self. Maybe datin' a med student made me too serious? I wonder. He used to make fun of me when I did things like that. I guess he did call me a romantic, but I don't think he meant it in a complimentary way."

"I'm sure he had his reasons," said Sasuke. "But, then again. You two aren't together anymore, so clearly there were issues with compatibility. Also, you shouldn't date someone who won't let you be yourself."

"Those are very wise words," he murmured, and left to think about his last relationship, he became quiet without realizing it.

They walked along the bridge, neither of them saying anything. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence by any means. Sasuke walked close by his side, and, once or twice, looked Naruto's way until Naruto finally glanced back at him and smiled.

"I was just thinking is all," he said.

"I figured."

"You're really easygoing, aren't you?"

"When I want to be," Sasuke answered. "There's no reason to be intense right now? We're only taking a relaxing walk. It's normal to be reflective at a time like this, right? Plus, I'm sure you're tired. I can get lost in my work, but a 12-hour shift would be rare even for me."

"Well, usually it's 12 hours on and then you're off, but we've been short-handed. I don't mind."

"It's good that you enjoy your job at such a young age."

"Ha, you make it sound like you're an old man!"

Sasuke cringed. "I'm _not_ an old man."

"Well, I _know_ that. I didn't mean literally."

"You get what I mean, though?"

"Yeah. Like how people our age tend to change up jobs every few years. Like you said, you wanna try somethin' different. I know I'm lucky in that regard, but I also see the benefit to bein' flexible enough to change jobs. If it's not what's right for you anyway. If you could do anything you want as a career, what do you think you'd do?"

Sasuke hummed. "Anything I want?"

"Anything." Naruto nodded.

"I hate to say it because it sounds cliche, but acting maybe."

"Holy shit, for real?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Is that strange?"

"No. I mean. You work in the entertainment industry, right? I dunno exactly what you do, but I guess acting would be in that wheelhouse or whatever. You certainly have the looks for it."

Sasuke tucked his hands into his pockets. "I'd like to think it takes more than looks."

"Well, yeah," Naruto said. "But, do you have experience acting?"

"I did some plays in high school and college, but then I got into doing more of the behind the scenes stuff. I found it interesting, and it's much easier to get a technical job in the city than an acting role, right? I meet actors all the time. The lifestyle doesn't thrill me, but the prospect of the work is stimulating to me. Learning lines, becoming the role, having to be on stage every night."

"Wow. I have to admit. I'm pretty impressed. It takes a lot of guts to go out on stage and do that."

"You don't think I can handle it?" Sasuke asked.

"No, of course I think you can! Stop puttin' words in my mouth." Naruto scowled and, turning around, walked backward while facing him. "So, why not go to some auditions?"

"I haven't done any acting in a long while," Sasuke replied.

"Okay, then while you still have _this_ job, take some acting classes, and see what happens. Or, find a sugar daddy to support you and just go for it?"

"As a nurse," said Sasuke. "Do you make enough money to be my sugar daddy?"

Naruto's face went red hot, and he stopped. But, coming along, Sasuke placed a hand to his chest and pushed, forcing him to start walking again. He had the biggest grin on his face.

"Why do you say things like that?" Naruto asked. "And then say you're not into romance?"

"Is flirting the same as romance?" Sasuke questioned, sounding genuinely curious.

Shit. Even that kind of comment got Naruto all excited.

"We can't be stoppin' every five feet so I can kiss you every time you say somethin' good."

"Why not?" Sasuke smirked, still pushing him along.

"You're gonna make sure I don't bump into anyone, right? I feel like this is a trust exercise."

"You can trust me." Sasuke smiled at him, and Naruto's heart fluttered in an unmanly fashion.

"You never said," Naruto murmured. "What's somethin' we can do that you haven't done?"

"Well," Sasuke smirked. "You, for one."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

"It's off the table?"

"...It's," Naruto licked his lips. "Not completely off the table. So far you've been well behaved. What makes you think I'd be willin' to bottom for you anyway?"

"Hmm. Are we going to have this conversation now?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm pretty sure you're a top," he said.

"I've been known to switch."

Naruto grinned widely. "Me, too."

"Then we shouldn't have a problem working something out."

"Heh."

Feeling sheepish, he scratched the back of his neck, but as he did, he also glanced down for a brief second. In that second, Sasuke grabbed the front of his shirt. They were stopped in the middle of the walkway, people passing around them. The way Sasuke was looking at him did a good job of sobering him up.

Sasuke pulled him closer. "What a serious look you've got there, Naruto."

"Can't be helped," he said, his voice low. "I think I'm weak to this particular look of yours."

"What look?" Leaning in, his lips almost brushed Naruto's.

He couldn't find his voice to respond, but Sasuke wasn't looking for a reply. Naruto's eyelids slipped shut, and he welcomed the cool press of Sasuke's lips against his. He cupped Naruto's cheek, then moved the hand into his hair, where it slid to the back of his neck. The insistency of his kiss urged Naruto to open his mouth. Sasuke's tongue probed harder, the fingers at his neck squeezing tighter, and so Naruto let the other man's tongue inside. His mind went blank, and his knees grew increasingly weak while they kissed. Maybe Sasuke didn't believe in fireworks, but they were certainly going off all around Naruto's head right now.

When the kiss ended, he was not only a little dizzy, but also a little breathless.

"I've made you speechless," Sasuke stated, but when Naruto didn't reply, he started to appear concerned. "Naruto?"

"Heh." Naruto chuckled, wanting to scratch the back of his neck again, but Sasuke's fingers were still there. "Um." He didn't know what to say, especially when the other man's thumb started tracking back and forth just under the base of his skull. "Sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" Sasuke asked, and when Naruto still didn't have a reply to give, the other man embraced him.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked near his ear, caught off guard by the gesture.

"It's only a hug," said Sasuke. "Get yourself together, Naruto. It was just a kiss."

"Hmph." He almost broke free, but Sasuke held him tighter. "You're too cocky."

"I prefer self-confident, but I'm not _always_. You're the one making me cocky right now."

"So, you're blaming me? I'd expect someone like you to take responsibility."

Sasuke's mouth was at his ear. "How shall I take responsibility?"

"Use your imagination."

"I've already done that several times tonight," Sasuke replied smoothly and let him go.

This time, he was the one who walked away. Naruto glared at his back at first, but then his gaze dropped to Sasuke's ass again. He followed after him quickly, but he did bump into him just to show that he'd snapped out of whatever spell the man had cast on him.

"Are you a witch?" Naruto asked, squinting at him when they were side by side.

"I think men are usually warlocks," said Sasuke. "But, why do you ask?"

"Hmm. You are kinda pale. Like a vampire."

"Rude," said Sasuke. "So, am I a warlock or a vampire or a witch?"

"I don't know!" Naruto almost wanted to pull out his hair. "Incubus?"

"Hn." Sasuke swung the Duane Reade bag. "You're amusing."

"Shut up." Naruto gave him another push. "You know…. I think there's a store I went to once that stays open late. It'll require hoppin' onto the subway. Only a couple of stops."

"I thought you didn't know much about Brooklyn."

"Ah, but this store was memorable. You're open to somethin' new, right?"

"I suppose. What do you have in mind?"

Naruto shrugged. "Nothin' you can't handle. If you hate it, we can always walk out."

"I'm up for it," said Sasuke. "We've got nothing else planned."

"Really?" He asked, grinning slyly. "I hope you don't regret it."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "It's not a strip club, is it?"

"What? No! Why would I take you somewhere to ogle naked guys?"

"Just checking."

"Tch. No. Although, hm."

"What?"

"Nothing." Naruto shook his head. "Like I told ya, if you hate it, all we gotta do is walk right back out."

* * *

"You're kidding." Sasuke was staring at the display window of the store Naruto had brought him to, looking mildly disturbed.

Naruto thought his reaction interesting for various reasons. "If you don't wanna go in, we don't have to. It's probably not somewhere you've been before?"

"I can't say I have." Sasuke grimaced and shot him a pleading look. "Have you?"

"Yep," he said. "Not many of these places cater to guys, so I've been with friends, and…"

"Boyfriends?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto simply shrugged. "Are you against these kinda accessories?"

"If you do it right," said Sasuke. "You don't need them."

"Well, that's not really the point," Naruto argued. "It's not meant to be _in place of_ , it's in addition to and just for fun. We can walk away right now if you're scared."

Sasuke snorted. "Scared? That's a pretty weak provocation. Even for you."

Naruto smiled, mostly because he liked the idea of Sasuke thinking after only a few hours together he could predict the kinds of things Naruto might say or do.

"Well?" He asked, finding this test very amusing. "If you see somethin' you like, I'll get it for you. You know, to commemorate the evening."

Sasuke gave another long glance at the items on display in the window and then at him. "Fine. Let's go in. It's better than us standing outside the door like this."

"If you didn't look so terrified, I'd kiss you just for bein' a good sport." He opened the door and held it for Sasuke. "After you."

Sending a glare, Sasuke bumped into him as he walked inside. There was a good looking gentleman with light brown hair and a goatee standing behind the counter. When he saw the two of them, he smiled.

"Can I help you?" He asked, glancing from Naruto (who was smiling) to Sasuke (who looked like he was ready to kill someone).

"No, we're good," Naruto replied. "We were in the area, and he said he hadn't been before. Thought I'd show him around."

"Alright, great. Let me know if you have any questions about anything," said the man.

"Sure, thanks. Do you mind if I set this here?" He took the bag from Sasuke's hand.

"That's fine with me."

Naruto set the bag on the counter and offered the man a friendly wave before placing a hand on Sasuke's lower back and ushering him further inside. The main room was small, but the whole store comprised three floors. In the basement were three rooms that could be used to watch videos. The top floor housed a collection of large pieces of furniture and equipment (mostly BDSM). He watched Sasuke take everything in, from the vast array of colored dildos, to the vibrators, clothing, incense, and so on.

"How you doin', buddy?" Naruto asked, trying not to laugh.

"You were totally flirting with him," Sasuke said under his breath.

"Uh, no. It's called bein' friendly," he replied. "Jealous much?"

Surprising him, Sasuke wandered off on his own, even picking up tubes and bottles of things that were either lubes or body paint. Since they'd been glued to the hip all night, he decided to give him some space, so he also began to peruse all the other merchandise. Sometimes he found items that either amused him or caught his curiosity. He picked up a package of stainless steel cock rings. They looked really nice actually, not that he'd ever used any before. In all of his relationships, he'd only been with one guy who was open to using toys, and that's when he was in college. Once or twice - with a one-night stand - a guy had wanted to do this or that, and Naruto was pretty open to trying anything at least once. Well, almost anything. There were lots of interesting books on one of the shelves, too. Not corny like other sex toy stores, but titles about relationships, biographies of famous LGBTQ people. He took one off the shelf and read the back, half-tempted to buy it. There were also the usual instructional books. When he finished browsing, he went in search of Sasuke, who was examining the videos.

"See anything you like?" Naruto asked, sneaking up behind him.

"Funny," said Sasuke. "I can't seem to find _your_ video anywhere."

"That _is_ funny 'cause it should've gone straight to DVD."

"Hn." Sasuke turned to him. "It says you can watch any of these downstairs."

"You can," he said, cocking his head. "You wanna rent somethin', or are you sayin' you wanna fool around?"

"I didn't even know the latter was an option."

"There's also an upstairs." Naruto pointed to the ceiling. "But, if you're not into BDSM, you're probably not gonna like it."

"Define 'into'," Sasuke murmured.

"I could always just show you?" Naruto smirked, his tone suggestive.

"What about you?" Sasuke asked, leaning in closer. "Find anything of interest?"

"Stainless steel cock rings," he replied. "They match my apartment's appliances."

"Do you have a problem with finishing too soon? Despite making fun of my stamina all night."

"Not _all_ night." Naruto grinned and took hold of the man's sleeve. "C'mon. I'll show you upstairs, and if you still wanna rent a video, we can."

He led them to a door in the back and opened it. They went up the stairs, which creaked under the weight of their footsteps. It was packed with various pieces of equipment. There were sex swings, benches, and things he had no idea the name of or purpose for. On a far wall, there were a lot of expensive leather accessories and hand-sewn clothing. He headed for the collection of paddles, collars, and whips. Finding a whip he liked, he pulled it off the hook.

Sasuke was a few feet away. "Is this a hint? Something you're into, perhaps?"

"Honestly, nah. I'm open to tryin' stuff out, but I haven't had a lot of experience with it beyond the usual handcuffs and spankings."

"That's an image I don't mind considering," Sasuke replied, walking toward him. He took the whip from Naruto's hand, unraveled it from the handle, and swung it.

"I take it you're no fan of these sorts of things?"

"I'm not opposed," Sasuke answered, putting the whip back where Naruto found it. "I can't say I'd have room for any of these pieces of furniture in my apartment, but sure. I like some things."

"Like what?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

"Hm. I like to tell a man what to do," he said, taking a step closer to him. "I sometimes like it a little rough. If we're both into it. I've been known to tie men up to the bed while I fuck them."

"Sounds like our interests are somewhat compatible," Naruto replied, voice husky.

Sasuke started backing him against the wall. "Do you have any fantasies?"

"Fantasies?" He repeated, gaze dropping to the man's mouth.

"Well, I figured since you've been here before, and you wanted to show me all of this. There's a possibility you have some fantasies you haven't yet had fulfilled."

"Oh? You think so?" He smiled crookedly. "But, where will I find a man willing to fulfill them?"

Sasuke placed a hand at his hip. "If you told me. I'd be willing to give it a try."

Pressing his body against Naruto's, Sasuke leaned in and kissed him. It was more intense than previous kisses, with Sasuke applying a lot more pressure, even nipping at his lips. He snuck his arms around the other man's waist, bringing him closer. Taking hold of Naruto's wrists, Sasuke pinned them to the wall while nudging a hard and muscled thigh between his legs. The contact caught him off guard, even making him let out a quiet gasp. Sasuke drew away just enough to kiss down the line of his throat, then back up again, where he placed a last, single kiss to his lips. He released Naruto's wrists, and it was a delayed second before Naruto realized he could drop them to his sides. His gaze was unfocused as it settled on Sasuke's face, the dark-haired man's thigh still within rubbing distance of his crotch.

Naruto grabbed for the front of his jacket. "You're gonna leave a guy hangin' like this?"

"What would you suggest I do?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know." He tugged at the lapels of his coat. "Fuck me against the wall."

"Right now?" Sasuke smirked. "Right here?"

Naruto shrugged. "It's late, and I'm low on sleep. You should take advantage of my deliriousness." He almost added "And horniness."

"That's not as enticing as it might sound to other men," Sasuke replied. "I'd rather have you when you can be a full participant. Maybe even completely sober."

"I like the way you say 'have you'." Naruto grinned. "You're really sexy."

"You're the one who looks pretty sexy to me right now."

"I do?"

"You do."

"Hmm." Naruto ran his hand through Sasuke's hair. "What do you wanna do?"

"What are our options?" Sasuke asked.

"Well. I think it would be frowned upon if we were to make use of any of the equipment up here, plus I'm not sure we're the type of trained professionals capable of not hurting ourselves."

"Isn't hurting ourselves the point?" Sasuke smirked and, taking a step back, latched on to the front of Naruto's shirt. "C'mon. I'll buy you those cock rings you liked so much."

"What?" He laughed as he was pulled along toward the exit. "Why?"

"You said it was your birthday that night, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you need to get me somethin'. Especially a cock ring. How about you just… buy me a coffee sometime?" Naruto suggested tentatively.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Sometime… tonight?"

"Or, whenever." He shrugged. "Maybe after tonight… if you want."

"Hn."

"Oh, shut up." Naruto gave him a push that sent Sasuke stumbling toward one of the sex swings. "I'm sorry I asked. Sure, get me a cock ring. Since _I'm_ the one with the stamina issues."

"Are we back to that?" Sasuke came up to him and, still smirking, adjusted Naruto's coat collar. "I could buy you a coffee at a diner in my neighborhood, and after that, I'll send you to bed."

"Send me to bed?" Naruto wrinkled his nose. " _Whose_ bed?"

"Yours or mine. Mine's closer. I'll leave it up to you. I know you're tired."

"I'm not _that_ tired. Or, are you tryin' to get rid of me?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied, brushing his knuckles across Naruto's cheek. "Can't you tell I'm having such a terrible time with you that I don't want it to end yet?"

He broke into a smile. "You don't want our so-called blind _date_ to end?"

"No." Sasuke, cupping Naruto's cheek, moved in to kiss him but stopped just before their lips could make contact. "I don't want our _date_ to end. Do you?"

"I'm up for somethin' more," he said, tilting his head in an attempt to brush his lips against Sasuke's. "But what is there to do around here at this hour?"

"That's a good question. There's bowling, another bar, or a rec center not too far from here that might still be open. It has a rock climbing wall. I've never done it before, but I've always wanted to."

Naruto chuckled. "I've done it a couple of times. It's fun. I have to warn ya, though. I can get pretty competitive when I want to."

"I believe it." Sasuke finally pressed their mouths together, and Naruto almost groaned because it was so fucking good.

A hand went around to the back of his head, holding him in place while they kissed. It was less rough than the last, and even became tender as it went on. In fact, it became so _intimate_ that he had to press a hand to Sasuke's chest and push him away. His head was swimming, and he realized that although he found Sasuke attractive, easy to talk to, and an interesting person to be around - it was all moving too fast.

"Sorry," he said, trying to catch his breath.

Slowly, Naruto raised his eyes to meet Sasuke's. This was the second time he'd kissed Sasuke and started to get overwhelmed, and he wasn't sure he could attribute it to lack of sleep either.

"I don't - " He didn't know how to communicate his thoughts. "It's just that - "

"It's okay," Sasuke said, his eyes moving back and forth. "We can take it slower."

"It's not that. It's like - " Glancing away for a second, he ran fingers through the hair at the back of his head, still feeling the pressure of Sasuke's hand from only seconds earlier.

The other man waited patiently for him to finish, but he didn't know why he kept getting flustered. It had been a year since his break-up with Neji, so recently getting out of a relationship wasn't an excuse. He'd teased Sasuke about being opposed to or afraid of romance all night, but right when Naruto's feelings were starting to become a little something more than about the physical, it unexpectedly freaked him out.

"Come on," said Sasuke. "Let's go to the rec center, and you can show me your competitive side. Or, if you don't want to…?"

"I do," he immediately replied. "Don't get the wrong idea." Naruto chuckled, trying to hide his embarrassment. "I think I freaked myself out is all."

"How so?"

"It's nothin'." Naruto felt highly conscious of Sasuke's physical proximity, and even though he kind of wanted to grab the man's hand, he decided to give his arm a squeeze as he passed, instead.

Sasuke followed him down the stairs, where Naruto grabbed his bag of snacks from the man at the counter, thanked him for letting them look around, and held the door open for Sasuke as they walked outside. Ah, air. Maybe that's all he needed. If only he'd bought a water with all his stuff. Hopefully there would be a vending machine at the rec center if that's where they were going.

"You okay?" Sasuke asked, turning to him. He pressed his hand to Naruto's forehead and frowned. "You're a little warm. I'm not sure if I should be concerned?"

Naruto felt his cheeks. "I think I'm okay. It got kinda warm in there is all. I'll get some water when we go to the rec center."

"We don't have to go," said Sasuke. "If you're tired or not feeling well. My apartment is four stops from here, so you're welcome to have my bed if you need to lie down."

He was torn between being overwhelmed with gratitude and irritated for being babied. He was a man and on top of that, he was a nurse. Naruto knew how to take care of himself, and was used to doing so. If a someone like Sasuke thought he needed help, it almost felt more like pity.

"Sasuke," he said. "I'm fine." Naruto removed the man's hand from his forehead. "Really."

"Okay." Sasuke pocketed the hand Naruto had rebuffed. "Then we'll go climb a wall."

"Sure." Naruto grinned. "We can see who gets to the _top_ first. But, I have the advantage of more experience in this situation. Just sayin'."

"We'll see." Sasuke placed an arm around his waist, but kept it loose as they walked toward the closest subway station. "I'm _also_ not much of a fan of losing."

"Even if it's your first time?" Naruto shot him a sly look. "Do you have good beginner's luck?"

"I don't need it," said Sasuke. "I'm naturally good at everything I try."

"Oh boy. You're a very humble guy, you know that?"

"You won't find a person more humble than me. I'm amazingly humble."

Naruto glanced at him, and seeing Sasuke's smirk, let out a quiet laugh.

"Sorry again about earlier," he said, biting his lip. "I didn't really have any expectations about tonight. In fact, I'm not sure I had any at all. I think it's that you're so… well, I don't know what to say here because I wouldn't wanna inflate your ego too much."

"Didn't I tell you?" Sasuke removed his arm from his waist. "The _humblest_ man in the world."

Naruto kicked a pebble he saw on the sidewalk. "Even so, I don't think I'm ready to say it out loud, and I like what you said earlier on in the night. That we should just see what happens."

"Okay."

"But, I am gonna kick your ass when we get there. Of that I'm sure."

"Whatever you say, Naruto." Sasuke graced him with an amused, condescending look.

Naruto glared and wanted to tackle him. "You're askin' for it, Uchiha."

"Oh, we're addressing each other by our family name now. How cultural."

"Tch." Naruto knocked into him, satisfied when he sent Sasuke sideways. "Jerk."

Sasuke snickered, but came directly back to his side. "How long are you going to carry that bag around anyway? I thought you were hungry. Maybe your blood sugar is low. Don't faint on me."

"I'm not gonna faint on you, you ass. You're scrawny butt probably couldn't carry me to your apartment if I did, so I'm gonna hold it together. You're welcome."

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness," Sasuke said dryly. "There really is a good diner not far from my place. I'm not usually into sweets, but they do have some amazing pie."

"But I bought a little cupcake." Naruto shook the bag. "I'm also not usually into sweets, but I was cravin' somethin' bad for me."

Sasuke stopped on the corner and turned to face him. "Are you saying I'm bad for you?"

"I was talkin' about the cupcake." Naruto frowned. "Clearly."

"Hmm." Sasuke, leaning in, took the bag from his hand again. "Then I'll hold onto it for a while."

When they began walking across the crosswalk, Naruto folded his arms behind his head, stretching them out. He gave a loud yawn in the process.

"Can't keep up, old man?" Sasuke asked.

"Old man?" He almost kicked him. "Wait. I'm not older than you, am I?"

"Depends. How old are you, Naruto?" Sasuke hit him lightly with the bag.

"Well, I turned 23 the night you and I met."

"Then I'm older," Sasuke answered.

"By how much?" Naruto was used to dating older men, but Sasuke couldn't have been that much _older_ than him. He certainly didn't look it.

"I'm… 24."

"That's not so bad," Naruto said. "When's your birthday anyway?"

"Why? Are you going to compare the compatibility of our horoscopes?" Sasuke smirked.

Naruto snatched the bag back from him. "You don't _deserve_ to carry this."

"Did I hit a nerve?"

"It was a simple question," he said. "It's just a birthday. I'm not askin' for your Social Security number. Are you one of those mopey guys who doesn't like celebratin' birthdays?"

"I don't know about mopey." Sasuke frowned. "But, no. I don't think much of birthdays."

"Not even friends' or family members' birthdays?"

Naruto loved birthdays, whether it was his or his friends' or his mom's. It made him sad that Sasuke thought the day he was born wasn't worth celebrating.

"I call and wish them a happy birthday," he answered. "But I don't expect them to do the same. Though, obviously they do. My brother likes to be especially obnoxious about it."

"Heh. I think I'd like your brother," Naruto admitted cheerfully.

"Sadly," said Sasuke. "I think you would, too."

* * *

TBC


End file.
